Submitted by Lyndsay Robinson '14. She will be working as a CNN runner during the debates. I was in Boston, Massachusetts interning for Senator Scott Brown when I got a call that CNN was looking to interview Saint Anselm students.

At first, I said "no" because I could not leave my internship, but then I realized, how could I pass up this opportunity?!

I got on the first train outbound. I arrived on campus and could not believe how fast the campus has transformed. Being interviewed by Don Lemon will be something that I will remember forever.

CNN is the homepage on my computer and I watch it daily, but being apart of yesterday's interview made all my dreams come true. I cannot wait to move back to Saint A's tomorrow to work the debates!

Story submitted by Lyndsay Robinson '14. Lyndsay is a politics major, Russian minor. She will be working as a CNN runner during the debates assigned to audience and staging.

If you have an interesting experience or story relating to the New Hampshire Republican Presidential Debate, submit your story through this blog. It's quick, and like this story, it just might appear in the Saint Anselm College Blog.

Submitted by Kristin Zanotti, a Saint Anselm student and runner working for CNN. I enjoyed every minute of working behind the scenes with CNN today. The whole day was filled with excitement from touring the CNN Express bus to joining fellow classmates in a filmed interview with CNN anchor Don Lemon! I loved being amidst the action that goes into preparing for the debates because I was learning so much. I can't wait for the next few days that follow, especially when the candidates arrive!

If you have an interesting experience or story relating to the New Hampshire Republican Presidential Debate, submit your story through this blog. It's quick, and like this story, it just might appear in the Saint Anselm College Blog.

Following is a the latest broadcast schedule for CNN programming scheduled to originate from Saint Anselm college this weekend and Monday, June 13. We will post updates as necessary. Several programs are scheduled to originate from the Quad, with Alumni Hall in the background.

Friday, June 10

John King, USA

7 – 8 p.m.

Saturday, June 11

Various live shots from campus

throughout the day

CNN Newsroom (hosted by Don Lemon)

5, 7 and 10 p.m.

Sunday, June 12

State of the Union with Candy Crowley

9 – 10 a.m.

Various live shots from campus

throughout the day

CNN Newsroom (hosted by Don Lemon)

6 – 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Monday, June 13

American Morning (with Christine Romans in N.H.)

6 – 9 a.m.

Various live shots from campus

throughout the day

The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer

5 – 7 p.m.

John King, USA

7 – 8 p.m.

The New Hampshire Republican Presidential Debate,
Live from Saint Anselm College

CNN Newsroom anchor Don Lemon is the first correspondent on the ground in New Hampshire for the network this week, preparing a number of stories for his broadcasts this weekend (he anchors CNN Newsroom weekend prime time programming). As part of his reporting, Don spent the day visiting local diners, catching up with politicians in the area, and talking to about twenty of our Saint Anselm students at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics this afternoon.

Don and his crew of two video journalists and a producer arrived surrounded by our student runners, students who are working with CNN this week, who were also invited to sit in on the interview. As the crew set up the set in the cafe area of the NHIOP, Don wandered about the room, snapping photos with his phone of the collection of campaign posters the Institute has on display.

With lights placed, seating arranged, and cameras rolling, Don got to work, asking students what was on their minds as we head towards the Monday night debate.

A number of other students were quick to offer their thoughts: health care, Social Security, jobs, education, and many more.

Five minutes later, the taping was over, but in a stroke of Twitter-inspired advertising, Don taped a promo for his social media presence on Twitter. You can follow Don, @donlemoncnn along with his producer, @CNNMike

As the crew broke down the set, Don took time posing for photos with many students, and talking about the weekend ahead. He even encouraged the students to join him for his broadcasts Saturday and Sunday night.

You can view Don's first story on American Morning, Friday morning in the 8:30 a.m. hour.

The Saint Anselm interview is likely to air during CNN Newsroom Saturday and Sunday evening.

Behind the scenes…

How does a taping like this come to be? It starts with a phone call.

As our staff met this morning at 10 a.m. to discuss plans for the day, we received word that CNN was asking for "a classroom full of students" by early afternoon. Phone calls were made, emails were sent, and within four hours, we had students in front of CNN cameras. A few students noted they were out to lunch with friends in Boston when they got the call, and immediately jumped in their cars to head for campus.

Of note, Lemon arrived at the NHIOP with a national newspaper in his hands, and left with a copy of The Saint Anselm Crier, Saint Anselm's independent student newspaper.

Four years ago, the CNN Express, CNN's bureau-on-wheels arrived at Saint Anselm for its first public appearance. The bus, designed for on-the-go reporting, was parked on the Quad and became part of the news gathering resources for the network. Since the last visit to campus, the bus has been across the country, covering politics, the economy, and deploying to breaking news stories.

A recent tweet from CNN Express producer Josh Rubin to @saintanselm noted that today's arrival "marks the four year anniversary of the CNN Express in action."

The bus arrived on campus this morning around 9 a.m. It will be positioned on the Quad in the next few hours, using Alumni Hall as the backdrop for a live shot location.

18 hours after a high school held their graduation on the floor of Sullivan Arena, the sounds of pomp and circumstance have been replaced by bucket lifts, and 3 trailer trucks full of equipment being rolled to its appropriate staging area.

In what can only be described as controlled chaos, we are now two hours into the process of building the debate hall.

The truss-style rigging, installed over the weekend has been lowered back to the floor, and lights are already being installed. Other crews are hauling in power lines (external generators will arrive soon to power the system), while other crews bring in pieces of the set, to be assembled over the coming days.

CNN executives arrived with advance staff this morning, preparing facilities to house the journalists and support personnel who will arrive in waves each day.

Elsewhere on campus

Carr Center is bustling with technicians who will install telecommunication lines to support the press file center. An area of the Carr Center has also been designated as the spin room, for post-debate politicking by candidates and their surrogates.

The Quad received its final landscaping attention this morning, prior to the arrival of the CNN Express bus tomorrow. A set will also be constructed on the Quad for live broadcasts.

In addition to our reporting, we have prepared a Twitter list, allowing you to follow along with the reporters, producers and technical crews that will be arriving on campus in the coming days. This list will aggregate tweets from the debate sponsors, and numerous individuals who are involved with the events on campus. Of course, we encourage you to follow the Saint Anselm Twitter account, @saintanselm.

There are no tickets available for the Republican debate. The college was only provided with a small number of tickets. The majority of tickets were dispersed by the debate's media sponsors, CNN, WMUR, and the Union Leader.

If you would like to be added to the ticket wait list, you can complete our request form at http://bit.ly/k8iaaD.

From Campus Safety and Security: The intent of the Campaign Visibility Area (CVA) is to provide campaigns and other groups with a designated area to express their free speech rights. It is important to remember, however, that while we want to allow this opportunity, safety is our number one concern. Many, if not all, of the rules outlined below are designed to ensure safety of all CVA participants along with the debate attendees. It should also be noted that Saint Anselm College, is private property, is located within a residential area of Goffstown and Manchester and we ask all CVA participants to be respectful of the local community.

Location

The CVA will be in the parking lot in front of Baroody Hall (indicated as building #25 on attached PDF map) on the campus of Saint Anselm College. Entrance to the area will be on foot only, via one of two campus entrances from Saint Anselm Drive.

The CVA will include all groups and campaigns wishing to express their free speech rights.

The CVA is the ONLY area on the campus of Saint Anselm College where visibility and signs will be permitted. Groups forming on other areas of campus will be escorted off the property. Groups forming on city streets or other public areas may be asked to leave by the Goffstown Police Department. Saint Anselm College has a strict no signs on Saint Anselm College property policy. This includes signs and banners on campus buildings.

Hours

The CVA will open at 5 p.m. on June 13, 2011. Groups will not be permitted on campus until this time. The CVA will be open to foot traffic only. Security will be on hand to enforce this rule.

Security

Saint Anselm College Safety and Security and local law enforcement, worked with the debate organizers on selecting this site and will be present in the area and responsible for enforcing the rules. That said, debate organizers also ask each campaign to assist with the enforcement of these rules amongst your own campaign supporters.

Parking

Parking is very limited at Saint Anselm College for the debate.

People wishing to take part in the CVA will not have designated parking on campus and should plan on being shuttled to Saint Anselm Drive for drop off, and walking to the CVA.

There is no bus parking near the CVA, drop off only.

General Rules Inside CVA

Nothing may be pounded into the ground of the CVA or on any college grounds

The only signs allowed in the CVA are lawn signs/placards

No 4' x 8' signs allowed

Signs on sticks will be permitted, but sticks must not be longer than three feet

No motorized vehicles

No scissor lifts

No bands (marching or other)

No megaphones or amplified noise

No noisemakers

Balloons are permitted

Homemade signs are permitted, as long as they meet above criteria

T-shirts, stickers, sandwich boards are permitted

No weapons, fireworks, animals

No grills/cooking devices

No alcohol

No lights or candles

No glass containers

Please use available trash containers and leave the CVA as clean as when you entered it

Other Notes

Anyone violating any of the above rules, or engaging in any disruptive behavior, can and will be asked to leave the CVA and Saint Anselm property immediately. Any of the above rules can be altered at any point before or during the debate due to safety or other concerns. Any changes made to these rules will be communicated to the management of each campaign with as much notice as possible. Saint Anselm College has the ultimate authority on what is permitted.

With the CNN, WMUR, New Hampshire Union Leader debate now one week away, preparations are well underway for the pending arrival of television crews and politicians. Before CNN's John King and the seven participating candidates can take to the stage, much work remains to be done, with a high school commencement in the midst of the action.

Over the weekend, a crew arrived to build the superstructure that will hold lights, and various pieces of the debate set. The crew worked from 8 a.m. to well after midnight Sunday, clearing the way for the Saint Anselm staff to prepare the arena for a Tuesday evening commencement ceremony of a local high school.